Saved By Zero
by Jacob M. Bosch
Summary: Jimmy has a problem. Marco tries to be helpful. Slash.


Title: Saved By Zero

Author: JMB

Spoilers: A/U version of Time Stands Still 1 & 2

Summery: Jimmy has a problem. Marco tries to be helpful.

Disclaimer: I don't own a single character in this story, some Canadian does so don't even think about suing me. Okay?

Author's Note: This is a quasi sequel to Change My World, which was kinda a sequel to Perfectly Or Not.

* * *

While Marco banged around in the kitchen, Jimmy fretted. He tried not to show it, of course. Displaying how scared shitless he was, was un-cool. So, he sprawled on the sofa because he wanted to look relaxed, like he didn't have a looming, apocalyptic confession to make.

Jimmy invited Marco and Craig to the condo to watch lame action movies and gorge on junk food, or so he claimed. They probably thought he was hurting for company because Spinner wanted nothing to do with him. In actuality, deception was the only thing on Jimmy's mind.

He really, really, really needed to talk to Marco, but he found it extraordinarily difficult to broach the topic of his severely cumbersome love life. So he lied about the real reason he wanted Marco over. Jimmy's duplicity didn't stop there. He was slinging lies left and right. He faked wonderment along with Marco when Craig didn't show, knowing the whole time that he told Craig to come two hours later so he could be alone with Marco.

_Starting, that's the bitch of it_, Jimmy decided, because there are so many ways his intentions could come off wrong. First off, he didn't want Marco to think he came to him with this problem because he was the only gay person Jimmy knew, or because Spinner wasn't talking to him. Craig was with Ashley and talking to him about his love life was the epitome of awkward, since Ashley figured prominently in Jimmy's current confusion. Secondly, Jimmy never wanted Marco to think he thought being gay was wrong. Thirdly… well, thirdly was reserved for whatever might go wrong he couldn't think of.

So far, Jimmy's wasted one of those hours procrastinating. He had less than an hour to grow a pair and accomplish what he set out to do: talk to Marco about his feelings for Rick.

_When Marco comes back in, I'm definitely going to tell him. Definitely_, Jimmy thought in an effort to hype himself up. He changed his mind a half dozen times before Marco returned carrying a large tray holding a gigantic bowl of popcorn and two glasses of soda.

Marco wore a dark blue shirt with short-sleeves and faded designer jeans that hugged tight around his thighs and butt. He was shoeless, his feet covered only by white socks. Marco was dressed down for a night of vegging. Jimmy was also dressed in casual fashion: he'd changed out of the clothes he wore to school and put on a pair of green baggy jeans no longer fit to be worn beyond the condo and a plain green T-shirt. He went barefoot.

Marco placed the bowl of popcorn on the middle cushion then transferred the tray and glasses to the coffee table in front of them. He grabbed Jimmy's legs by the ankles and tossed them off the sofa then sat on the opposite end.

"You should do that for a living," Jimmy said as he scooped up a handful of popcorn.

"Do what?" Marco asked, pinching a few kernels with his fingers.

"Serve me food," Jimmy replied before funneling popcorn into his mouth.

"Ha-Ha. Maybe I will, but you better get used to your food tasting funny."

Jimmy grinned as he chewed. They sat quietly and watched one of the too many Bloodfist sequels on cable. Then Marco asked, "So… you and Spin still not talking?"

Jimmy kept watching the TV and said, "Nope."

"You guys really need to get over yourselves."

"When he's ready to apologize, he knows where my door is."

"Spin? Apologize? So you're basically saying you two are never getting back together."

Aghast, Jimmy turned his head and saw Marco innocently munching on popcorn and watching the TV. "Dude, rephrase! Rephrase!"

Marco smiled like the _Mona Lisa_ and grabbed another helping of popcorn. Jimmy shuddered and returned his gaze to the screen. After a few minutes passed, he decided to broach the real reason why he asked Marco over.

"Marco… what do you think about Rick Murray?"

"I don't," Marco stated, still watching TV. "Guy freaks me out. I know what Spin and Jay did was wrong, but still, Rick did a lot of sick stuff."

Terri," Jimmy said.

"Yeah."

"But do you think he's changed?"

"I don't know how somebody like that can ever change."

"I… think maybe we should, you know, give him a chance."

Marco looked at him now. "What?"

"I'm just saying he must want to change if he came back to Degrassi knowing how he'd be treated. That was kind of brave. Don't you think?" Jimmy said in rush of words before he chickened out and dropped the whole subject.

"Maybe," Marco responded cautiously. Then he said, "I guess you and him are sort of not enemies now."

"I told him I had his back if he got picked on again."

"That why Spinner's mad at you?"

Jimmy shrugged. "That, and I beat him up."

"I saw. So, you're ditching your best friend for Rick?"

"No!" Jimmy barked. "It'd be different if I thought Spin was riding Rick to get payback for Terri, but I can't remember the last time he even talked about her. And the fact he teamed up with Jay to do it, Jay who never had two words to say to Terri, you know he's fucking with Rick just for the hell of it!"

When Jimmy finished his rant he was panting and Marco was giving him a measured look. Embarrassed, Jimmy tried to play off his impassioned speech by grabbing a handful of popcorn and stuffing the whole bunch into his mouth.

"I guess that's not surprising," Marco said before focusing on the TV again.

"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked after he washed down the gummy-crunchy mass in his mouth with soda.

"Mr. Simpson put you two on the same team for a reason," Marco said. "Jimmy, I love you, but sometimes you can be thick."

Jimmy ignored the 'I love you' because it brought up issues he didn't want to deal with. He was confused enough without Marco tantalizing him with innocent declarations. "Please enlighten me, Mr. Wizard," he said, setting the glass back on the platter.

Marco unleashed a rude snort. "Well, think, doofus! Simpson knows you're a team player and you'd empathize with Rick if he were on your team."

"Wrong! Simpson put us on the panel to punish us for fighting," Jimmy said with absolute conviction.

Jimmy must have been the dumbest creature on the planet the way Marco was looking at him. Marco shook his head slowly, making the action look steeped in melancholy, before he turned back to the TV. "Thick. So very thick."

Jimmy frowned and grabbed another handful of popcorn then tossed it at Marco's head. This resulted in small war of kernel throwing until Marco had to go back into the kitchen and make more. Jimmy got out the mini-vac and cleaned up all the popcorn he could find. As he vacuumed, Jimmy realized he managed to avoid the meat of the conversation he wanted to have with Marco. He was procrastinating again, subconsciously delaying until Craig showed up.

Jimmy put the vacuum cleaner away when he was finished and got back on the sofa. He was resolute now; he was going to come right out with it when Marco came back. No more bitching out. He was going to Just Fucking Do It!

"I put extra butter on the popcorn this time, so unless you want grease stains all over your house I suggest no more impromptu food fights," Marco said when he reentered the living room.

Marco sat and placed the bowl between them again. He munched and watched TV as Jimmy's determination slowly eroded. Before it could desert him completely, Jimmy took a deep breath and started talking. Quickly, so he didn't have chance to think about the consequences of baring his words to air.

"When did you know you were gay?"

Marco turned to him dull-eyed and chomping popcorn open mouthed. It wasn't a flattering look, and made him look like a cow chewing cud.

"Well?" Jimmy asked impatiently, not liking the hammer to the forehead expression on Marco's face.

Marco swallowed noisily then said, "Excuse me if I'm a little stunned by the randomness of your question!"

"I'm just curious," Jimmy replied easily, sounding relaxed and blasé (_better late than never_).

"Huh. Okay. I guess I've known since I was six."

"Six!" Jimmy exclaimed. "How do you know if you like girls, boys, or _anything_ when you're six-years-old?"

Marco shrugged. "I wanted to marry George Michael, so I was definitely gay." Marco grinned, grasped his hands together against his chest, and declared, "Little did I know how possible my impossible dream was."

"So you knew for that long, huh?"

"Sure did. Not that I don't like this sudden interest in my bent childhood, but you wanna tell me why you're asking?"

Jimmy ignored Marco's question and asked another of his own. "But you didn't… You couldn't have been, like, sexually attracted to guys when you were six, right?"

"No."

"So when did you, you know…?"

Marco laughed and said, "Sure you wanna know? It's kind of graphic and I know how you hets get when we start flaunting our homo all over the place."

"Yeah. Yeah, I do want to know," Jimmy responded solemnly.

"Er… well…" Marco wiped the grin off his face and cleared his throat. Jimmy's questions were throwing him for a loop. "The first time I popped a boner because of a guy I was twelve. Yeah, I was twelve."

"You got aroused…" Jimmy said thoughtfully, his gaze drifting past Marco's face as he pondered what he was told. "Ever like a guy but didn't get turned on by him?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"The first time I saw Ashley, I wanted her. To kiss her, touch her. She turned me on."

"You felt that way about every girl that caught your eye?"

Jimmy thought about it for moment then answered, "Yeah."

"You filthy slut," Marco said.

"Marco, I'm really serious."

"Sorry, sorry! Just… what's all this about?"

The decisive moment arrived. Jimmy hoped Marco would have figured it out on his own by now. Not that it would have made the situation any less traumatic even if he had.

"I'm almost sure I'm gay."

"Who's-a-jigga-wha'?"

"Marco…"

"No, now I'm serious!" Marco insisted. "You're gay! That's huge!"

Jimmy gave Marco a deadpan look. "I seem to remember taking your revelation more in stride," he said.

"Ah-ha, but be honest, finding out wasn't much of a surprise to you, was it?"

"Well… no," Jimmy admitted.

"See! Wow, you must be one of us. Your radar is excellent."

Jimmy groaned and slumped on the couch and stared at the ceiling. "But see, that's the thing: I'm not completely convinced I am."

"I'm not saying everyone's experience is the same as mine, but trust me, if you're gay you know it."

"Maybe I'm confused."

"Addle-brained is more like it," Marco said.

"I'm gonna punch you right in the mouth."

"Gay on gay violence is such an ugly crime."

Jimmy looked at Marco gave him a quick, fake smile then returned his gaze to the ceiling. "Like I was saying before you turned into Howie Mandel, I have no idea if I _am_ batting for the other team. I feel something for him, but-."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… wait a minute. There's a him?"

"There is."

"Oh, boy."

"I think I'd like to… I don't know what I want from him. He's not even gay, but he's so… lovely."

"Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy."

"Stop saying that."

"No problem. Who are we talking about?"

"Spinner."

"Oh, my God."

Jimmy laid his head back and covered his eyes with his hands. "Okay, that was a lie. I'm hoping that was so shocking that when I tell you who it really is you won't be as revolted."

Marco socked Jimmy in the shoulder. "You jackass! Don't scare me like that again!"

"You hit pretty hard for a girly-man," Jimmy said.

"Whatever. Who is it?"

"Rick."

"Rick, who?"

"Rick Murray."

Marco slowly craned his head around and stared at the TV, but Jimmy had a feeling he wasn't watching Don "The Dragon" Wilson execute a poorly choreographed spinning back kick to a stuntman's face.

"I know, it's weird, but I think about him all the time. It's like with Ashley, except…"

"He's a psychopath?"

"He _isn't_," Jimmy maintained in a creaky voice. He didn't want to sound whiny, but knew he did.

"How can you say that after what he's done?"

"I don't know," Jimmy replied almost inaudibly.

"Jimmy… Damn it. Maybe you only feel sorry for him. You're confused, like you said."

"I don't think so."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I've felt this way about someone male before."

"I'm not sure I want to know. Was it Saddam Hussein?"

"I know what Rick did was bad, but I think comparing him to a brutal dictator is going overboard."

"Okay, okay. Never mind." Marco sighed then said, "So what do you feel about him? I mean, how is it different than what you felt for Ashley?"

"Well… it's like… I know I want to kiss him—he has very pretty lips—but when I try to imagine what it'd feel like," Jimmy closed his eyes and tilted his head, "I feel like I'm reading about it happening to someone else. I can't connect the want with desire."

When Jimmy opened his eyes, he saw Marco giving him a long thoughtful look. "You're scared," he said after some silent deliberation.

Jimmy shook his head. "I'm not scared of anything."

"Trust me, you're scared. You're not dealing with being attracted to him by not letting yourself _feel_ attracted to him."

"I'm in denial, that's what you're saying."

"Yeah."

"You're wrong. When I like somebody, I like them. I don't deny it, especially not to myself."

"Jimmy…"

"No," came Jimmy's adamant reply.

"Fine," Marco said, retreating for the moment. He decided to switch track. "Was it the same with the first guy you liked?"

"He… he was different."

"How?"

"He just was," Jimmy said, inundating his words with tetchiness. He hoped it dissuaded Marco from probing further.

It did.

"O-Kay."

"Look, I'm not scared, I just don't know if I'm gay or just… curious."

"Fair enough," Marco said with a small nod.

"You hear about it all the time. Some people go through a phase. Have doubts about their sexuality."

"And you're one of those people."

"Dunno. Maybe."

"Then let's find out," Marco suggested, like it was obvious and the easiest thing in the world to do.

"I can't. I think I scared him away," Jimmy said. "I said something stupid to him and he hasn't been back to school since. Of course, it's probably because of the prank, but after I told him Rick looked… God, he probably thinks I'm a total freak!"

"What did you say?"

"I said he was beautiful then ran away like my hair was on fire."

"That was sweet."

"Oh, please," Jimmy, said leaning his head back on the sofa again.

"I still think you should find out if you're gay or not."

"I doubt Rick's going to participate in gay experiments with me."

"It doesn't have to be Rick."

Jimmy lifted his head off the back of the sofa and smirked in Marco's direction. "Oh, sure, I'll just go out and fool around with the first guy who lets me."

"Jimmy, I don't know if you noticed, but there's a homosexual male sitting less than two feet away from you."

Jimmy couldn't think clearly for a minute straight. He was not at all certain he heard what he heard. It was at once too good to be true and terrifying. "What?"

"I know I'm not crazy enough for you, but I think I can sufficiently get a rise out of you. If you're gay that is." Then Marco waggled his eyebrows and said, "I'm so good maybe even if you're not."

"What?" Jimmy repeated.

Marco moved the bowl of popcorn to the coffee table. "Come 'ere," he said before sliding closer until their sides touched.

"What?"

"Am I freaking you out?" Marco was grinning.

"What?" Jimmy repeated again.

"I don't know if you're freaked or spontaneously dropped twenty IQ points," Marco said.

"Wha-"

"Jimmy, don't say what again."

"Are you serious?" Jimmy asked instead, his brain slowly rebooting.

"Sure I am."

"What about Dylan?"

Marco looked down and placed his hand on Jimmy's leg. "We're not going to have sex, Jimmy. I love Dylan, but I don't think a little kissing will hurt anything." Marco started rubbing his left hand up and down Jimmy's thigh.

"So-so, this is a-a test, huh?"

"Uh-huh. Feeling queer yet?"

Jimmy wasn't. He was too scared. But not scared the way Marco accused him of being. "I don't think this is a good idea."

Marco looked up and they made eye contact briefly before he lean forward and kissed Jimmy on the lips. It was brief and light and Jimmy was utterly still during and after. Marco, sensing neither resistance nor agreement, kissed him again, but this time kept their lips in contact much longer. The kiss wasn't hard; it stayed feather-soft. Marco's lips working first on Jimmy's bottom lip then meandered up to his upper lip.

Jimmy's thoughts were a riot of conflicting emotions, yet his body was unbelievably unresponsive. Even as Marco's hand came within mere centimeters of his groin. Marco got to his knees on the sofa, keeping his mouth in contact with Jimmy's. He clasped the back of Jimmy's neck with his other hand and pressed in closer, his kisses getting persistent, forcing Jimmy to retreat until his back leaned over the sofa's armrest. Marco was all but lying on top of him now.

This wasn't fair. It took Jimmy so long to get over his infatuation with Marco and even longer to stop hating Dylan for having Marco. He knew going through with this was going to fuck with his head. "Stop," he said, moving his head up so his lips were out of Marco's reach. "Stop, this isn't right."

"Jimmy, it's okay. It really is," Marco said cutting off further protests from Jimmy by sliding up his body and forcing another kiss on him.

Jimmy once again found himself lacking courage. He could make Marco get off of him, could do it with one arm; he was that much stronger. But Jimmy was all too conscious of the fact once Marco proved whatever point he was trying to make there would be no more kisses. No more of Marco's slim, warm body against his. That wasn't something he could give up easily. Not when all he had to do was let Marco have his way, absolving Jimmy of responsibility and allowing him to get what he's wanted for the better part of a year.

Then an ugly rationale crept through the reptile portion of Jimmy's brain: why be responsible? He's always being so goddamn responsible! How easy would it be to reverse their positions and take more than Marco offered to him? It'd be real easy. He could tear off Marco's clothes and plunder what Dylan Michalchuk was fortunate enough to have whenever he wanted. It'd be so damn _easy_. And maybe—maybe—just this once he'll win over the other guy. Marco would choose _him_ and he won't be yet another person's second choice.

Jimmy wanted to surrender to the urge, wanted it like he never wanted anything in his life before. To take and take and take until Marco was his, but he couldn't deceive himself. Not for long, anyway. He can't make himself believe Marco ever considered him a choice at all.

Jimmy cautiously wrapped his arms around Marco and accepted the cruel pittance given to him. He repositioned himself on the sofa until his entire body rested on the cushions, carrying Marco's form with him, as if he was a fleshy stretcher. Marco mirrored his action and stretched along the length of Jimmy's body, winding his arms around Jimmy's neck.

_God, he's so small_, Jimmy thought and hugged Marco tighter.

Marco spread his thighs apart and slinked down until his arousal was evident and pressed into Jimmy's groin. Pleasure sparked through Jimmy like a bolt of lightening, causing him to react without thought. He rolled Marco underneath him and jabbed his hips down, scraping their concealed erections together.

Marco hooked his heels over Jimmy's calves and rubbed them up and down his legs. Jimmy slipped his hands down under Marco's ass and squeezed his small, but taunt cheeks before yanking Marco's lower body more solidly against him.

Jimmy is gay; it was a proven beyond all doubt, so Marco was well in his rights to put an end to their experiment. So, Jimmy kissed Marco like it was for the last time. He clutched him as if he'd disappear like a wisp of smoke, because Jimmy knew it could all end in an instant.

He licked away the flavor of popcorn and butter inside Marco's mouth until there was nothing but the pure taste of Marco. And it was a battle; Jimmy never met so much resistance when he kissed someone. Not that Marco was trying to hinder him, but his tongue was equally aggressive. So much so, Jimmy wondered who wanted this more: him or Marco?

Marco moved his hands away from Jimmy's neck to his shoulders, his fingers squeezing briefly before continuing down until his hands were on Jimmy's back. The heels of his feet climbing up the back of Jimmy's legs until they dug into the very top of his thighs, just beneath Jimmy's buttocks. Marco used his heels like spurs to urge Jimmy's pelvis towards his own.

It was about then Jimmy lost control (though it was debatable if he ever was in control). He started pounding his hips at Marco with all the strength in his body, his hands left Marco's delectable little ass and moved to the armrest above their heads. He gripped it as he continued hammering down against the boy beneath him. All the barriers of fabric between them may have withheld the true heat and softness that would have been present if they were naked, but they made the friction rougher and somehow sweeter. And thankfully, Jimmy was certain, a longer experience.

Jimmy was about to come and he stopped kissing Marco so he could see his face when he did. Marco's eyelids were slits, his irises barely visible. He was biting his lower lip and breathing hard from his nose. His skin, normally a very light brown, was ruddy and sprinkled with beads of sweat. The look of him was the purest example of lust Jimmy's ever seen that wasn't from a photograph or on a moving screen. Jimmy lowered his head again, not to kiss, but to run his tongue under Marco's jaw, tasting his sweat—his skin.

Marco sighed his name; his fingers clawed Jimmy's back. His body vibrating with tension, tension brought on by his efforts to rock his body in rhythm with Jimmy's, but Jimmy's larger, more powerful, form anchored his down against the sofa cushions.

Jimmy was getting there… getting real _close_… just one more lunge and he'd go right over the edge… Marco came. He screamed Jimmy's name. Jimmy's hip thrusts faltered. Marco crying his name made the world stop—just stop. Jimmy and Marco caught in that frozen moment, looked into each other's eyes. Marco gazed at him with dark, inscrutable eyes. Jimmy wondered what he was thinking right then.

The moment passed. Jimmy kissed Marco's eyelids closed, then kissed his nose, lips, and chin when he began humping again. Marco was shaking from the aftermath of his orgasm and was still hard, but not for long. Jimmy had to hurry to completion before the other boy came to his senses.

The doorbell rang. Three knocks at the front door followed. Jimmy closed his eyes and bit back a cry of frustration; Craig was at the door.

When he opened his eyes Marco was smiling up at him sheepishly. When he tried to wiggle out from underneath Jimmy, Jimmy was slow to let him go. When he got free, Marco rushed out of the living room, and headed in the general direction of the bathroom. Jimmy remained on the sofa, his legs folded beneath him, his hands curled into fists on his knees.

Craig knocked again.


End file.
